An introspection from Benchling: Why we support iGEM and continue to do so
by Johnny Truong, Benchling Academic Evangelist
In every iGEM team, a great sense of camaraderie gets cultivated by the end of the competition. Throughout the year, you all work towards a common goal, bring together your individual strengths, and share personal experiences and lessons learned. Now imagine doing those tasks full-time as an employee at a company – that has been my experience so far working at Benchling.
At Benchling, our mission is to fundamentally transform how biology research is done. We accomplish this through developing software that eliminates busywork and enhances collaboration for all scientists, including iGEM teams. My role here as an Academic Evangelist is to engage with academic communities about adopting new tools to accelerate their research. iGEM is one community that I continue to prioritize but I’m not alone. As a company and as a team, Benchling has been able to give back and deliver an incredible amount of support for iGEMmers.
The cross-functional Benchling team that has supported iGEM in 2020
This is our second year in a row as an official Partner Sponsor for iGEM, but the Benchling team has achieved many “firsts” for 2020. Beyond financial support, we stepped up and expanded our involvement through diverse activities ranging from webinars, workshops, and panel discussions. Here’s a quick recap of Benchling’s efforts thus far:
Webinar Series for iGEM Teams (May - June)
Beginning in May, we hosted a three-part webinar series on a bi-weekly basis. These webinars served to introduce Benchling and to train iGEM teams on using two main applications: Benchling Notebook, a cloud-based laboratory notebook, and Benchling Molecular Biology, a suite of sequence design and analysis tools. If you’d like to see for yourself or share with other iGEM teammates, you can stream these webinars on-demand here.
Virtual Collaboration Workshop at iGEM Opening Weekend Festival (May 28)
Benchling hosted a workshop on “Cloud-based software for efficient virtual collaboration” at iGEM’s first Opening Weekend Festival. We showed iGEM teams how they can integrate free software tools to remove redundancy, increase transparency, and improve accessibility during these times of social distancing. Catch our session (YouTube)(Bilibili) along with the rest of the iGEM 2020 Opening Weekend Festival.
iGEM EPIC Panel Discussion (June 12)
iGEM’s Entrepreneurship Program International Committee (EPIC) recently launched its first Venture Creation Labs, a three-week program that gives iGEMers a framework to develop their first company. Benchling’s CEO and co-founder, Sajith Wickramasekara, spoke at the “Launching your Bioventure” panel sharing his own experience of the pitfalls and learnings with starting a company. Take a look at the full panel discussion to hear more great insights.
An iGEMmer’s response to Benchling’s workshop at the Opening Weekend Festival.
I still remember what it’s like to grow as a young scientist, with the awe that comes from soaking in completely new experiences – from your first poster session to your first science talk. It truly is the epitome of science to make discoveries and to share them with the broader community. During my junior year, I went to an American Chemical Society meeting where I met excited and like-minded peers and thought: “This is a community meant for me.”
iGEM accelerates this trajectory for many young scientists, serving as a gateway for opportunity. My colleagues at Benchling have supported iGEM for years, and so I decided to ask them about their journeys in science and their experience with iGEM:
The Benchling’s team personal history with science research. Johnny Truong (left), Lily Helfrich (top), and Ciara Rea (bottom). Photo credit for LH by ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
“From a young age, my favorite classes were always science-oriented, especially biology. Flash forward to college, I majored in Microbiology and later pursued a master’s degree in Biotechnology. As an undergraduate, I did research that was both a great learning experience but also a little scary! It was the first time I was independent at the bench designing and running my own experiments. At my first local microbiology conference, I got the privilege to listen to scientists who were conducting fascinating research from novel viruses and viral proteins, to complex microbial systems. iGEM allows so many young people to get inspired to go into research and gain skills that will help them throughout their lifetime!”
“When I was young, I was surrounded by science. I grew up close to Woods Hole, a village in Falmouth, Massachusetts that is home to well-known scientific institutions, including the Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In college, I spent summers in Wood Hole studying how snails develop and how certain fish are remarkably resilient to toxic chemicals. Biology has been a constant thread in my life. Working with iGEM, I’ve loved seeing how biology has inspired students to pursue their research passions. The skills that laboratory science teaches students, like how to ask creative questions and methodically break down problems, are undoubtedly valuable — whether they end up working in research, industry, or in a different field altogether.”
“One of the most memorable experiences as a child was a scientist who came in to speak on the way that liquid nitrogen creates ice cream (yum!). It gave me my first insight into what a scientific career could look like and inspired me to do more research on what I wanted to work towards as I got into college. I support iGEM because it connects students to real-world problems and challenges them to think about innovative solutions in a creative way. These experiences shape a student’s hopes and dreams of becoming a scientist and I appreciate being able to contribute!”
My colleagues and I at Benchling are excited to continue supporting iGEM throughout the year and fully intend to participate in the upcoming virtual iGEM 2020 Jamboree. The Benchling team is excited to give it our all and look forward to overcoming new obstacles, but like iGEM our support doesn’t stop with the Jamboree. With everything going on in the world, my colleagues and I at Benchling have been doing our part as well – from combating COVID to taking a stand on racial inequality. Every scientist, new or old, has a platform to achieve great things, whether in the lab or out of it.
For the 2020 Competition, Benchling is giving a special offer for iGEMers to receive our Notebook, Molecular Biology, extra space, and an enterprise feature — all for free. Visit Benchling’s Partner Page to sign up today!
Benchling is a Partner Sponsor of the 2020 iGEM Competition. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities at iGEM.
